Sunday, 15 December 2013

Recently (well - several weeks ago, really!) a good friend at the game club asked me if I fancied painting some 6mm Anglo-Saxons. As I'd just finished the Napoleonic Russians I was not wanting to do anything with uniforms, so I agreed.

Here's the work in progress. I've done 6mm Napoleonics before, but never any ancients or irregular types so the painting is a bit random at the moment. I'm generally splashing around some basic colours over a burnt umber undercoat. I'm following the WRG / Phil Barker guidelines on painting barbarians from years and years ago - you know, paint the coat of one figure, the trousers on another, the cloak on another and then just repeat with lots of different colours till it all starts to take shape. I'll see how I get on when it comes to putting in some more detail.

Most of these views are from the rear of the figures as I've not started the shields.

Finally finished off the Afrika Korps boxed set for Flames of War. Probably only took a couple of years or so to finish - in between all the other game projects I had going. I've not added the transfers / decals to them because I can't make up my mind which division I want to portray.

The force is based around 2 panzer grenadier platoons with sundry armoured, a/t, 88mm gun and other support.

I found I had extra 88mm guns in the box so I was able to put 2 guns on those wheeled transport / support things, as well as having 2 guns emplaced. I like the look on the guns on the wheels.

Of course, with the Afrika Korps, the colour scheme is pretty much sand, sand and more sand, with a bit of lighter or darker sand as variation. I added a few stones to some stands to give some variation.

When doing the previous post on the Russians, I recalled a conversation I had with a fellow gamer many years ago at the Claymore show in Edinburgh.

I was at the bring-and-buy stall and picked up a box of painted 15mm Napoleonic French figures. Reasonable painting if I recall, but very expensive for what was there. Essentially the box contained Napoleon and several generals, a few guns, old guard infantry and polish lancers.

A chap appeared at my side and said, "What do you think?"

"Painting's OK," I replied, "But it's expensive for what's there."

"I agree," said the chap. "There's no line infantry or cavalry."

The conversation continued for a bit like this, but unknow to us the owner / seller had come up behind us and got a bit huffy (put-out, upset, etc.) at our comments.

"It's a nice set of figures," the seller claimed, "And well painted."

"That may be so," said the chap at my side, "But it's not worth it."

He then went to to tell the seller that every Napoleonic gamer with a French army would have figures of Napoleon and Ney and other marshals, they would have old guard and polish lancers, and that to most napoleonic gamers, these type of figures were virtually worthless. What Napoleonic gamers really needed, he claimed, were painted line infantry and lots of it. Everyone paints the 'special' units but never has enough basic line infantry.

The seller remained in the huff and walked off muttering, and we put the figures back on the stall. The chap and myself continued out conversation for a bit, essentially in agreement, then went our separate ways.

But it made me think for a bit, and I've tried ever since, with mixed success, to have lots of line infantry in my armies. But I still think that on any given game day round the world, there will be more figures of Scots Greys, Rifles, Old Guard and Polish lancers on tables than ever existed. But hey-ho, that's Napoleonic gaming. We all want the special units and I'm no exception - I still have more old guard figures to paint, and I'll get them finished someday.

Got the Russians finished for Napoleon at War. Finished off the line infantry, the cuirassiers, the generals and the cossacks. Not bad as a finished result, but it's left me wanting to avoid painting green uniforms for a bit. Here's the whole lot set out.

Left to right, it's the jaeger with cossacks behind.

Guns in the centre.

And jaegers on the other flank.

The grenadiers, which in games just doubles as line infantry on the night.

The other grenadier unit.

The line infantry.

The generals.

The curassiers, where I managed to place one stand of red facing colours beside the blue unit and vice-versa. Doh!

And finally, the cossacks. Bit more regular unifomed chaps than the usual scruffies one sees.